Yesterday a retired professor at our local university asked me to speak to an engineering student about nonduality. He came from a Muslim tradition, so I used some of Rumi's poetry (with which he was familiar) to point to the truth. Throughout our conversation he frequently interrupted me by saying, "But that contradicts what you said a few minutes ago....." Each time I would laugh and reply, "Of course! Because I'm pointing to something that includes all opposites. No matter what I say, it has to be both true and false at the same time." Ha ha.
It reminded me of the first time I was exposed to the idea of polar opposites. I was a sophomore in college taking a humanities course. The prof was explaining that you can't have good without bad, but I just couldn't grasp it. I remember thinking, "That's totally crazy!"
I had lots of fun trying to drag the engineering student into the present moment, but there was no way he was going to leave the mind behind. Here's a sample of our conversation: (he is fluent in English)
Me: Stop and be still for just a moment. What can you hear?
Student: What do you mean?
Me. What can you hear?
Student: What is the meaning?
Me: I'm asking you to just listen for moment. What can you hear with your ears?
Student: Hear what?
Me: Any sounds that you can hear.
Student: What kind of sounds?
Me: Any kind of sounds. Can you hear the hum of the refrigerator, or the birds singing outside, or the light wind, or your own heartbeat?
Student: (after thinking for a moment) Yes, I can hear those things, but why?
Me: Forget why. Can you just silently listen for a few moments to whatever you can hear?
Student: What is the meaning of this?
Ah well, just another fun day at the office.
It reminded me of the first time I was exposed to the idea of polar opposites. I was a sophomore in college taking a humanities course. The prof was explaining that you can't have good without bad, but I just couldn't grasp it. I remember thinking, "That's totally crazy!"
I had lots of fun trying to drag the engineering student into the present moment, but there was no way he was going to leave the mind behind. Here's a sample of our conversation: (he is fluent in English)
Me: Stop and be still for just a moment. What can you hear?
Student: What do you mean?
Me. What can you hear?
Student: What is the meaning?
Me: I'm asking you to just listen for moment. What can you hear with your ears?
Student: Hear what?
Me: Any sounds that you can hear.
Student: What kind of sounds?
Me: Any kind of sounds. Can you hear the hum of the refrigerator, or the birds singing outside, or the light wind, or your own heartbeat?
Student: (after thinking for a moment) Yes, I can hear those things, but why?
Me: Forget why. Can you just silently listen for a few moments to whatever you can hear?
Student: What is the meaning of this?
Ah well, just another fun day at the office.
